Sakshi Sontakke 8912290 Assignment 1
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Conestoga College *
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8090
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Medicine
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May 26, 2024
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ASSIGNMENT 1
STUDENT NAME: SAKSHI SONTAKKE
STUDENT NUMBER: 8912290
PROFESSOR NAME: MS. SAMANTHA MARSH
Application of Six Sigma Methodology to Reduce Medication Errors in a Major Trauma Care Centre in India.
Background of Healthcare Issue: Globally, medication errors represent a major risk to patient safety. Utilizing Six Sigma methodology, the study was carried out at the Ganga Medical College Hospital in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, with the goal of reducing pharmaceutical errors. Probably, a significant number of patients may have been harmed as a result of the existing high number of medical administration errors at different phases.
The Present Situation and Goals for Improvement:
There are a lot of medication blunders made when prescribing, transcribing, dispensing, administering, and monitoring medications. The objective of the improvement outcome was to decrease the number of mistakes in every phase and enhance the total sigma value, which indicates an overall level of effectiveness of the process.
Out of 1050 cases, the number of
prescribing, transcribing, dispensing, administering, and monitoring errors were found to be 62, 19, 6, 47, and 14 in the measure phase which reduced to 12, 10, 2, 7, and 4 in the improve phase.
SIX SIGMA DMAIC METHODOLOGY STEPS:
1)
Define Phase (Specify the Improvement Goals): For example, the issue here is well-
defined. A high rate of drug mistakes endangering patient safety was during administration and prescription. To improve these goals have been set to reduce errors in the prescription, transcription, dispensing, administration, and monitoring of drugs.
2)
Measure Data (Examine Existing Procedures): Data was collected on what errors were occurring at every stage of the procedure. The main objectives of the measure performance phase were the distribution, collection, and development of several medicine types. Data was analyzed to find the underlying reasons for errors, such as poor standards, a lack of communication, or problems with the system. 3)
Analyze Phase (Develop and Put into Practice Changes): Remedies were created to deal with the core problems that were found, like putting in place standardized procedures, strengthening technological systems, staff training, and better communication channels. Collaborated with healthcare personnel to implement reforms, guaranteeing commitment to new procedures and participation.
4)
Improved Phase (Measure Success): Tracking of prescription mistakes after they have
been implemented: To determine the efficacy of medications, post-improvement data were compared to initial measurements. To evaluate the overall performance and progress of the process, the sigma value was calculated. Table 1: Baseline Data in the Define Phase.
Type of Errors
Number of Errors
Percentage
Prescribing Errors
25
45.45%
Transcribing
Errors
4
7.27%
Dispensing Errors
1
1.82%
Administering
Errors
21
38.18%
Monitoring Errors
4
7.27%
Total
55
100%
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Conclusion:
Ganga Medical College Hospital's medication management process saw a considerable decrease in medication mistakes at every level after implementing the Six Sigma approach. Patient safety is raised as a result of the improved sigma values, showing improved process performance and reduced uncertainty. Suggestions for additional development might involve staff training on error prevention techniques, continuous process monitoring and improvement, and the investigation of other quality improvement instruments like Root Cause Analysis or Lean methodology to address particular medication management issues.
REFERENCES:
George, Ankitha, et al. "Application of Six Sigma DMAIC methodology to reduce medication errors in a major trauma care center in India."
Indian Journal of Pharmacy Practice
11.4 (2018).
https://ijopp.org/sites/default/files/InJPharPract-11-4-182.pdf